LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES: Tennessee, Taiwan live on in LLWS

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Knox Preston’s head turned out to be fine. And so is the Nashville, Tenn., player’s swing.

A day after being cleared by Little League World Series doctors of any signs of a concussion, Preston played a big role in Nashville’s 10-0 rout of Newark, Del., in an elimination game Monday.

The second baseman singled and scored the first run during a six-run, second-inning rally. He then sealed it with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth that invoked the tournament’s 10-run mercy rule.

“I was really nervous because, at first the doctor said he was really close to saying I had a concussion,” said Preston, who landed hard on his head after being tripped up running to first base during a 10-2 win over Corpus Christi, Texas, on Saturday. “When he told me I was able to play, I was so happy because I would’ve hated to just watch my team and not be able to contribute at all.”

The Southeast champions had plenty of contributors in avoiding elimination in their second straight game.

Zane Denton hit a grand slam in the second inning. Robert Hassell had a double and RBI triple.

And just as important, the shortened game allowed manager Chris Mercado to save his pitching as Nashville is still two wins from having a shot at playing in the U.S. bracket title game.

“That’s how we get out of the loser’s bracket, guys. We have the pitchers to keep them down,” Mercado said. “And once we start hitting, the other team’s going to be in trouble.”

Nashville advances to face either Sammamish, Wash., or Urbandale, Iowa on Tuesday.

In International bracket elimination games Monday, Taoyuan, Taiwan, rallied from a 3-0 deficit to pull out a 6-4 win over San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. Taiwan advances to play Aguadulce, Panama, on Tuesday. Panama advanced with a 12-0 win over Ottawa, Ontario.

Against Nashville, Delaware (1-2) threatened with the bases loaded in the third before Joseph Davis struck out looking. Justin Courter had the lone hit, a single, for the Mid-Atlantic champions.

After opening the tournament with a 6-3 win over Iowa, Delaware dropped a 15-3 decision to California.

Newark manager John Ludman had no difficulty believing his players would be fine after their second lopsided loss.

“They’ve gone farther than any Newark team. They had a great ride,” Ludman said. “The kids know they accomplished a lot. There were very little expectations for this team. They really have been a Cinderella story.”

Nashville, by comparison, suddenly finds itself on a roll since a series-opening 3-2 loss to Westport, Conn.

That’s nothing new for a team that’s advanced out of the loser’s bracket in each of the qualifying tournaments to reach South Williamsport, Pa. Nashville won the Southeast title by winning four straight after losing the opener.

As a result, nerves weren’t an issue for Nashville players on Monday.

“I don’t think so,” Denton said. “We’ve been in this same position like four times.”

PANAMA 12, CANADA 0Jean Mar Sanchez hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs, and Edgardo Rosales and Juan Crisp combined on a one-hitter to help Aguadulce stay alive.

Rosales struck out four in 2 2-3 innings, while Crisp struck out two in 1 1-3 innings of relief.

Panama scored six times in both the second and third innings. Rosales started the scoring with a solo homer before Rafael Eysseric added a two-run triple. Sanchez knocked home a run with a single and Crisp added a two-run single in the second.

Carmelo Cruz had an RBI walk, Jean Cornejo hit a two-run double and Sanchez homered in the third.

Jack Walsh had the lone hit for the Canadians.

TAIWAN 6, PUERTO RICO 4Huang Chao-Wei singled home two runs during a four-run fourth inning, and Lan Huai-Chein doubled and scored in the fifth in the come-from-behind win.

The Asia-Pacific champions had a short turnaround following a 3-2 loss to Japan in the late game Sunday night.

Puerto Rico (1-2) threatened in its final at-bat, scoring once on a two-out, bases-loaded walk to Edgar Baez. But Robert Addarich bounced out to the pitcher to end the game.

Puerto Rico starter Leonardo Lizardi hit four batters into the fourth inning to tie a one-game series record set six times.